E-commerce platforms are free falling and fast.
Many e-commerce businesses are failing due to a large number of factors but there 4 of these identified reasons are most significant.
E-commerce platforms may be new to the Nigerian market but it is a business that has successfully flourished globally but seems to be failing in the Nigerian market.
This comes as a surprise as despite the amount of capital pumped into these e-commerce platforms in order to make them succeed.
Here are 4 reasons why e-commerce platforms are failing in the Nigerian market.
1. The pay-on-delivery mode of payment
This mode of payment has been taken advantage of by most e-commerce customers and it has led to e-commerce companies suffering from major losses.
When a customer orders for an item which is on its way for delivery but decides to cancel the order, the payment of logistics like delivery and transportation of the item falls on the e-commerce company.
Konga CEO, Shola Adekoya has announced recently that this feature will no longer be available as an option on the Konga platform while Jumia, another major e-commerce platform still has this option.
2. Compromise of the delivery chain
While the ideal delivery chain should consist of a customer making orders through the platform and a merchant sending the requested goods while using the e-commerce platform act as a middleman, delivery men have disrupted this chain.
There have been recurring cases of delivery men conniving with merchants to sell products directly to customers for cheaper rates thereby diverting business from e-commerce platforms and cutting them out as the middleman.
3. Poor customer service
There have been many reports of most e-commerce platforms having poor customer service with the customer support platforms either being slow to respond to complaints or not available to respond. Also most fail to make t even after the incident has been reported.
This unprofessional attitude has raised many questions of accountability and resulted in the loss of customers’ confidence in e-commerce platforms.
4. Low standard products
A lot of buyers have ordered products from e-commerce platforms only for them to be delivered and have low quality in comparison to what was advertised or do not have the features that were mentioned online.
This has led to many customers refusing to return to e-commerce platforms to buy items in fear of receiving low-quality items.